V Plow

[mbrule]

Has anybody ever made a V - Plow? I am thinking about making a small solid V Plow, (no power angling or anything) to mount in the bucket of my small loader. Would be about 4' wide. I can work out the mounting easy enough, but not sure about how to get the right roll / angle. I envision a small version of those pictured. I think I could cut the moldboard braces to the right curve and then form / weld sheet metal to them. Just not sure how to get it right. Any thoughts?

 

[JCByrd24]

Just a thought, not an expert here. I'm guessing on a tractor the curve and angles are not critical due to speed. You likely will not be "throwing" snow at tractor speeds, which would seem to be the factor driving critical design of the curves on a highway or train plow. I've thought of doing the same thing as the bucket does not get you far, but have yet to do it. I think as long as you have a few extra inches of width over your tractors width, you'd have pretty good results. The tractor should push a much wider v-plow than bucket, or even straight angle plow for that matter, as light tractors can tend to get pushed to the side by a straight angled plow.

 

[MrPete]

I agree with JCBird. I have seen people make vplows for a garden tractor with a sheet of 3/4 plywood that has worked just fine.

 

[snowjoker]

I have an Oshkosh with one of them type V plows.. I will say they are not as heavy as you think it would be.. The moldboard is about 3/16 and has very little bracing just like the pictures you posted im guessing you could get away with 14 gauge material for the moldboard.. but your bottom section needs to be pretty strong so when you hit something it can jump it. Also the big plows have 5 chains to hook up to lift them and a very important part of its structural strength... one for the front of the plow, one on each side to hold the wings from moving in and out. and 2 to lift the rear of the plow... to do this right your going to be spending some money and time on it... might be cheaper to buy one already made up..

 

[kubotakid USA]

Id suggest u use a tank, for starters, Just cut sections out and form your plow.

kubotakid USA

 

[mbrule]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I agree that the angle are not important at tractor speed now that I think about it. I do intend to make it wider than the tractor probably about 6" on each side. The reason I would like to make a V-Plow is that I think I can mount it in the bucket with a lift chain such that it will float independent of the bucket, thereby keeping the weight if the bucket on the front wheels so I can steer. I had a nice straight blade that I made but had to mount is so far in front of the bucket that the front of the tractor was always being pushed sideways.

This is more of a toy that anything else, so I want it to look good and will use it on the sidewalks, My tractor is a compact Yanmar YM135, so the blade only needs to cover about 4' and will work good for sidewalks. I don't think a lot of structure is necessary on my little tractor. I would love to find something already made up, but suspect that is unlikely and I do not want to invest a lot of money. I can likely make one from scrap if I can figure out the best way to do so. A tank my be a good start....

I will keep you posted and please reply with any and all ideas. Would really like to see pictures of V-Plows as well!

Thanks

 

[kubotakid USA]

I was thinking If you want the tall outer edge look, You could use a come along to strech out the radius a bit.Maybe drill a couple holes to attach the chain, get between a couple trees and strech out one side, If the inner radius wanted to go with it you could put a tie down strap on to hold it at the orignal radius

kubotakid :flagday:

 

[davel8257]

I'm curious about your efforts with the straight blade. I was thinking about a fixed angle, shallow blade that I would only use for pushing snow.

 

[mrfu]

I had one and really didn't like it. It was built to go on the 3 point hitch and plow backwards and I found that a normal backblade worked better. I traded it for some tirechains and the guy who bought it made a mount for his loader and seems to like it. The one thing you really need is a skid shoe in the middle so it doesn't dig in, especially if your drive is dirt or rock. Here are a couple of pictures of it.
Tom

 

[mbrule]

I'm curious about your efforts with the straight blade. I was thinking about a fixed angle, shallow blade that I would
only use for pushing snow.

Dave,

The straight blade was 5' wide manual angle mounted on ears on the floor of the bucket. The way I mounted it it did not float but was rigid with the bucket. To be able to angle it, I had to mount it pretty far out front, so if there was any snow at all it pushed the tractor sideways. Had I made it so it would float (independent of the bucket, unfortunately the loader has no float position, if I ever have to replace the valve it will have float), it would have been better. I still would lose traction with any real snow. Because it did not float and was so far out front it was very hard to control, as it just had to skim the surface, or I could not steer, so I was constantly feathering the valve. I ended up scrapping it!

I intend to make the V-Plow so it will float independent of the bucket, lifted with a chain. That will keep the weight of the bucket on the front tires. I am planning on putting some sort of "foot" at the point and each edge, I am thinking a loop facing forward. With the feet and the ability to "float" I should not have to keep adjusting it. Theoretically, a V should be only half as far out in front of the bucket as a straight angled blade. I do not want to remove the bucket as I use it to clear my patios and move the snow banks on my driveway back when we get a lot of snow. The V Plow will be for plowing the sidewalks, mostly for my entertainment!

Tom, thanks for the pictures, they help give me ideas, plowing backwards would suck.

kubotakid, interesting thought if I was to use a tank. I have some old drums I might play with.

Thanks again everyone!!! Keep the replies and ideas coming!